Warning! Slight little anxiety attack in this chapter that may be uncomfortable for some readers.
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The summer heat lulls on, continues it's way through to mid September and it seems it's not going to stop.
Well, it "seems" it does stop at the most inappropriate time for the residents of Namimori.
Wednesday, it's dry and unforgiving. Reports of heat strokes and people passing out from dehydration are all over the news as it is marked hottest day of the year so far.
Thursday, 11 a.m., it's raining. Lightly, but it's enough to make the hearts of the citizens cry in thanks to the gods for this gift. Lightly was all it "seemed" to be until 1 p.m. when it becomes a downpour and nobody is prepared for this weather.
Reborn is one of those unprepared people. And he is ticked off.
He's scoured the earth to find a suitable place for his first "home" and Namimori, quiet peaceful town in Japan, was perfect for him. He's researched the history of the town and the weather reports to see if he would even like it here. He did, obviously, since he's living here now. But this, this. Reborn inwardly growls.
He hates things that don't go according to his plans, even if it's the weather.
Why was it today, the day his plane landed, the day that the weather decided to slap him in the face and say, "Fuck you"?
Why was it that when he went to the small store in the airport to buy an umbrella, that they had run out? (He wasn't going to use Leon as an umbrella; he wasn't that much of a jackass, honestly.)
He's dreading the moment the taxi comes to a stop and he has to walk out in his priceless suit and shoes (and hat!) only for it to get soaked within seconds.
Though, at least he wasn't the only one in this predicament. Reborn smirks, watching people sprint and slip all over the streets and sidewalks. If Reborn suffers, then so does everybody else within a 10-mile radius of him.
Chaos.
The car jerks lightly at a stop sign, and during the few seconds there, Reborn sees an umbrella bobbing along the sidewalk. He raises a brow. Why is it that the whole town is suffering due to unforeseen weather patterns but this one kid isn't?
The umbrella is giant, and covered the whole body, save for the scratched up legs and horrendous shoes.
A wicked grin split Reborn's face. Everybody must suffer like Reborn, and he'll make sure to do it himself, personally if need be.
"This is where you'll be dropping me off," Reborn chimed, quickly paying the man and gliding out of the car towards the walking umbrella that just barely reached his knees.
It took less than 5 strides for Reborn to catch up to the blue umbrella kid, pluck it out of his hands and start walking ahead.
Tsuna, shocked witless (and so is a cab driver, having just witnessed a full grown man jack a kid's umbrella and walk off), stood there. His hands were still up, as if the umbrella had never left his tiny grasp. But without the umbrella, he was quickly becoming soaked to the bone.
Tsuna watches Reborn stop at the next corner, torso turned and head looking back at Tsuna. He had the smile of the devil plastered on his face.
He's a monster!
"Am I really a monster, Dame-Tsuna?" Reborn calls, a chill, that wasn't from the cold rain seeping into his clothes, ran down his spine. Tsuna's mouth hung open.
"This is just you providing an umbrella for me, your handsome neighbor. It's called being a good neighbor. Good children help out their neighbors."
You're a children-eating monster!
"Instead of screaming in your head that I'm a 'children-eating monster', you should say it with that trap of yours that's hanging off your skull and making you look more stupid than you already are."
Tsuna gulps and lowers his eyes. He really does not want to deal with this today.
He took a strap off his shoulder, pulls his backpack around and unzips it. His small hands grab the extra umbrella and open it up.
Right, I'm not dealing with this today. I'm not dealing with this today. He chants in his head.
Reborn's smile falters a little. Is he being ignored?
Tsuna halts next to Reborn, look both ways, and then crosses the street. He didn't even glance to Reborn.
He is being ignored. He doesn't like being ignored.
He doesn't like children, but Dame-Tsuna was fun to mess with. He's been doing so for the past month he's lived here and it's his main source of entertainment. So having him ignore Reborn was out of the question. It's obvious Tsuna can tell Reborn is danger, he just doesn't know why he hasn't cried.
Most, no, all children have cried just at the mere presence of Reborn. It was thrilling in a sense, to be able to intimidate small creatures at first meeting. Like how dogs sense danger. Children were like dogs. Except, they cried loudly.
Reborn doesn't know why Tsuna hasn't cried and screamed to his lovely mother about the "child-eating monster" of a neighbor they have. Tsuna should have cried at some point. Why hasn't he?
Is it more of the boy giving up, having accepted his fate of being the punching bag for everyone? Or was there a reason that led him to believe that he is nothing more than that? He was only 5 and to think-
Reborn's brow twitch. The kid is just his neighbor. That's all. He won't pry into it. He may have done his research on the town and most of its people, but that was just a general background check to see if there'd be anybody here to ruin his fun.
The Sawada's checked out.
Mother, Nana Sawada, lives with son, Tsunayoshi Sawada, in a 2-bedroom apartment. Father, Iemitsu Sawada, is overseas working, being the overseer of construction traffic sites. Code for "Cheating on wife and child," something Reborn won't bother bringing up. Though, it's a pity the husband decided to cheat, Nana is a lovely woman. Grandmother, on Nana's side, lives a few hours north on her own. The bank accounts didn't bring up anything up suspicious and neither did the family history. Iemitsu's family history is a bit interesting, since he has some relatives tied to Italy.
Again though, no big red flags that Reborn should note. They were boringly normal.
Reborn tips his hat down and follows Tsuna, his quiet footsteps falling in line with the loud splashing of small feet. Messy, Reborn sneers inwardly.
It was becoming strangely, uncomfortable, for Reborn on the walk back to the apartment complex. Silence was what Tsuna was, but whenever Reborn is near, he managed to get some screams and whimpers and even a few words out of the silent boy.
Reborn sidesteps the wobbly walking umbrella that came close to tipping over in front of him.
"Pathetic walk."
No response.
"Ruining your shoes so much that poor Nana will have to spend so much time cleaning them, too?"
The umbrella falters and begins to fall forward. Would have fallen into the giant puddle too, if Reborn hadn't crouched down and grabbed Tsuna by the coat.
"You're walk is more pathetic today than normal. Why is that?"
Reborn places his chin in his open palm, seeing Tsuna carefully place the umbrella on his shoulder and tighten his grip on the handle. The boy wasn't even looking at Reborn.
"Don't ignore me, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn growled, hand itching to grab that jacket (why was he always wearing a jacket?) and pull him up.
He quickly looks at Reborn then looks away, biting his lower lip. "I-I-"
"Spit it out."
Tsuna curls in on himself and spoke, "D-Do adults get scared?"
"What?"
"I-I-! I-D-Do I-I, s-sca-"
"Why do you ask?"
Tsuna is shaking now. "I-I heard M-Mama trying to call P-Papa yesterday. Sh-She's been trying t-to call him for a long time b-but he doesn't answer and when I ask Mama s-she says everything is fine but her smile looks wr-wrong and I-I think she's scared-d but she says she isn't and-d everything's fine but but-"
He's breathing really hard, the umbrella on the ground for his hands were grabbing his sides, hard. He crouches down, starting to choke on nothing.
Reborn doesn't know what to do. He's never dealt with a crying child before.
Reborn cautiously places his hand on Tsuna's back. Tsuna jumps at the touch but relaxes, taking in deep breaths. A few minutes pass when a quiet mumble catches Reborn's attention.
"M-My hef hrts."
Reborn leans forward, "What hurts?"
Tsuna's shaking hand rubs his head, a gesture to his head hurting. The breathing is now quiet and not short, but if it starts again, he could possibly choke.
Reborn squints and surveys the street, seeing a bus stop with a covering.
"We're going to the bus stop." Reborn scoops Tsuna under his arm and glides to the covering. He sets down Tsuna and sits next to him. He still has a hand on his back so he won't fall over, and because it looks as if it soothes Tsuna, for whatever reason.
Father who hasn't called in possibly months and works overseas as an obviously suspicious construction traffic overseer? Tell the kid truth?
Reborn eyes Tsuna, the quivering, wet mess of a boy. Obviously no.
"Where did you last hear from your father?"
Tsuna gingerly lifts his head, rubbing his scalp. Tears streak his chubby cheeks, his eyes pink and puffy. "I-I think Mama said… said F-France?"
"France?"
Tsuna nodded his head, "Yea, the boot one."
"The boot one?"
Tsuna nods his head, wiping his eyes roughly.
"That's Italy."
Tsuna blinked once, twice. "R-Really?! No way!"
"Yes really."
"B-But, I-I was told that was France!"
"Who told you that?"
"Papa!"
Reborn wants to shoot himself.
Reborn places his elbow on his knees, letting a hand hang and raises the other to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Your father is an idiota dannato."
"Ah!" Tsuna points an accusatory finger to him, "Papa speaks that! D-Does that mean you're from France?"
"It's Italy you bambino stupido. Stop calling it France."
"Papa told me it was France and I trust Papa! Also, I think you just said something mean to me in French!"
"It isn't France. And I wasn't speaking in French."
"Yes it is and yes you were!"
"I'm from the boot country so I know for a fact it is Italy, Dame-Tsuna!"
"You're a monster who eats kids like me, so why should I believe you?!"
"Vado a spararmi."
"You said something mean about me again!"
"That wasn't about you. This is about you: Dame-Tsuna, sei un bambino stupido che ha uno sciocco di un padre e scarpe brutte."
Tsuna flinched, "T-That was really long…"
"Would you like me to say it again in French? French, which derives from the country of France, that is not shaped like a boot?"
Reborn scoffs and runs a hand through his spiky hair, dropping his hat back on his head, "Je n'ai même pas rencontré ton père et il m'agace déjà."
Tsuna's mouth drops and his eyes widen, "You can speak more languages?! That's so cool!"
Reborn blinks and sighs in exasperation. "Yes, I can."
Tsuna hops close to Reborn, now sitting on his knees and facing him. "What else can you speak?"
Reborn surveys the boy and his heart nearly jumps in his throat when he sees orange in the chocolate eyes. It was a flash, like the wisp of a flame going out but Reborn, he saw it.
Interesting.
"I can speak Russian, English, Chinese, Tagalog, Spanish, Portuguese, and that's just coming from the top of my head."
The grin splitting from ear to ear was bright. This was the first time Reborn has ever seen Tsuna smile and honestly speaking, it's a really nice smile.
"That's so cool! When did you learn? How did you learn? Who taught you? Could you teach me? I want to learn too! How long doe-"
Reborn clamps a hand on the boy's mouth to shut him up. "Stop asking so many questions at once, Dame-Tsuna. We're not here to talk about my education history."
He can feel a small pout on his palm and Reborn has to actually fight back a smile playing at his lips. He lets go of Tsuna and crosses his arms. Tsuna crosses his arms too, the pout on his face still.
The rain has subsided to a light drizzle, much to Reborn's pleasure. He stands up and looks down on Tsuna. "Does your head still hurt?"
Tsuna nods, "A little, but it comes and goes so it'll be gone soon."
"Comes and goes?"
"Yea," Tsuna starts, climbing off the bench, "I get it a lot."
When he's in a state of….
He files that away for later.
"Do you know what your father's job is?"
Tsuna nods, "He said he went away to become a star."
"We're done talking about your father."
"E-Eh? Why?! W-Wait!"
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Tsuna has to jog to keep up with Reborn, who still has his umbrella!
Reborn's a thief! Tsuna thought, warily watching Reborn climb up the stairs. I bet he's planning to steal something else from me.
Reborn closes the umbrella to its small size and chucks it at Tsuna who doesn't catch it with his hands but with his face. He wants to get out of his wet suit soon. "Stealing means taking something without permission and not giving it back. I gave it back did I not? I'm a good person."
"Y-You took it without permission!"
"You provided it for me, as a sign of being a good neighbor. You had an extra one did you not? So what's there to complain about?"
"I-I was going to give it to Mama when she picked me up!"
Reborn tilts his head, "And why didn't she pick you up? You were walking alone."
Tsuna glances away, "She… had to work overtime tonight. She called the school to tell me to walk home. B-But, Mama said she'd buy me salisbury steak as an apology!"
"What does your mother do?"
"She's a cook for the hospital! She makes the best food in the world! A-And I know she's busy and she shouldn't be sorry for working so much because she's doing her best!"
"I'm sure she is."
"A-And-" but it's cut short by his own screaming. Something had crawled down his head and Tsuna was terrified. Tsuna swats at whatever it is, crouching down and flailing his arms.
Now this is entertainment. Reborn clutches his sides and folds over laughing at the sight and sound of Tsuna. He hasn't had a good laugh in weeks.
Tsuna wants to cry but he can't because Reborn is laughing and it will only make it worse for Tsuna. Also, it feels like this is a true genuine laugh (at his expense albeit) and Tsuna likes the ring it has to it.
Of course his real laugh is at me being scared. Tsuna thinks glumly. He gathers his courage to see whatever crawled down his head is, which is now resting on his shoulder. A green, little animal with big, yellow eyes on either side of its head.
Eh-
Between dying down chuckles, Reborn reaches to grab the animal and explain, "What you nearly slapped is my companion, Leon. He's a chameleon."
Tsuna is mesmerized, tilting his head at Leon. Leon tilts his head.
Tsuna blinks. Leon blinks.
"He's been on your head since the bus stop."
Tsuna absently pets his hair. He didn't feel anything on his head.
"You have too much hair to feel anything on it."
"That's not my fault!"
Reborn shrugs, not bothering with this argument. "Look Dame-Tsuna, my house is behind me, I am wet, I want to change so say goodbye to Leon quick before I decide to steal your backpack too."
Tsuna raises his arms in protection of his backpack but looks to Leon, "Goodbye Leon! I hope to see you soon!"
Leon's pink tongue slides out, his way of saying "you too," and scurries up Reborn's arm.
"Addio, Dame-Tsuna."
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I've made a tumblr account for Apartment 15! It'll just be me posting crap, either sketches or little stories or whatever, and yea! you can follow at apartment-15. I'm on tumblr moreso than here so if you have questions sooo, hmu there!
Hmm, I forgot what else I was going to say. OH! There will be shitty google translations throughout the story so don't expect perfect anything LOL. If you see something that is totally wrong, then pls let me know! Here's what Reborn says in this chapter:
Idiota dannato - goddamn idiot
bambino stupido - stupid child
voda a spararmi - i'm going to shoot myself
Dame-Tsuna, sei un bambino stupido che ha uno sciocco di un padre e scarpe brutte - Dame-Tsuna, you're a stupid child who has a fool of a father and ugly shoes
Je n'ai même pas rencontré ton père et il m'agace déjà. - Your father pisses me off and I haven't even met him
addio - goodbye